FCC History: 1920-1942

In 1920, the FCC congregation secured a lot on Kentucky Street for a much larger church. The building committee consisted of H. E. Everman, Mrs. J. A. Gilliam, James T. Nelson, and S. L. Wilburn. They were joined by pastor A. W. Rethemeyer when he began leading the church in 1922. This committee bought the lot and oversaw building plans and construction with no disputes among them on any decision. The congregation made pledges and raised funds for the construction.

From 1921 to 1926, FCC members met in a tabernacle, first on the new church lot, then moving to donated space on the same block in 1923 so the foundation could be dug. They still owned the Center Street church, so the move was either because the congregation was too big for it, or they wanted to rent it out, or it may have been simply an act of faith that the new church would be built soon. In 1922, the church organ was loaned to the South Corbin Church of Christ, but there's no record of whether it ever came back. That year, the building fund was too low to begin construction, so pledges were loaned back to the members temporarily.

The first architect they engaged did not work out, which turned out to be a blessing. FCC then hired Albert A. Honeywell of Kokomo, Indiana, who specialized in designing churches. He was a Christian Church minister as well as an architect. The cornerstone of the current church building was laid in 1925, and the building was dedicated at a worship service on June 27, 1926. FCC membership numbered around 900 people at that time.

By then, the church had installed a grand pipe organ from the Henry Pilcher's Sons Organ Company of Louisville, which is still producing beautiful music today. The purchase of the organ was made possible by a grant from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation, which covered half the cost. In 2024, FCC began a year-long restoration project to repair, upgrade, and refurbish the organ at a cost of more than $40,000. Major contributors are recognized with a plaque at the church. We pray this organ will continue to produce beautiful music for another 99 years.

The new sanctuary was equipped with 1,313 folding seats, some of which are still in use in our balcony. The leaded stained glass windows, now valued at over $200,000, were protected with plexiglass in the 1960s and by glass overlays in the 1970s.

Making the mortgage payments during the Great Depression was a struggle. Some members had even mortgaged their homes for the building fund! The congregation held ice cream socials and public dinners for 25 cents each. Flossie Eubanks, Lucy Bryant, and Mary Thompson could feed up to 400 people in a day. The ladies of the church sold space on a quilt they made, embroidering names on the squares at ten cents each, or twenty-five cents for a circle. That quilt is now hanging in our choir room.

In 1936, a congregational meeting unanimously approved a resolution to change the name of the church from First Church of Christ to First Christian Church of Corbin. In the years that followed, the FCC congregation supported Transylvania College, missionaries abroad, the Kentucky Children's Home for orphans, the Galilean Children's Home, the local Girl Scouts, and other Corbin churches during any time of need. The church building was made available to organizations from the American Legion to the city schools to the USO. The local health department held clinics in the basement for years. FCC had been renting out the 1908 Center Street church, and finally sold it to the Church of the Nazarene.

Pastors during this period were I. E. Reid, J. K. Reid, W. B. Carter, A.H. Baugh, R. G. Sherrer, Cleo Purvis, R. G. Sherrer again, A. W. Rethmeyer, Festus N. Wolfe, and Dallas Gladson.

Previously: FCC History chapter one.

Next: FCC History chapter three